The dual institutional work of Lyra's Walk: partisan violence and peace protest in Northern Ireland
Journal of Organizational Ethnography
ISSN: 2046-6749
Article publication date: 9 May 2023
Issue publication date: 24 July 2023
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to explore peace protest as a form of institutional work aimed at supporting one institution and disrupting another.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors utilized walking ethnography (28 miles in 18 h while conducting 25 walking interviews) and digital media analysis (news reports, social media and electronic communication).
Findings
Walking participants engaged in multiple types of institutional work aimed at maintaining the Good Friday Agreement and disrupting partisan violence. The institutional work left no lasting impact on either institution.
Originality/value
The paper conceptualizes two competing institutions and situates the dual institutional work of Lyra's Walk in the post-conflict context of Northern Ireland. The study contributes to understanding formality and multiplicity in institutional work research.
Keywords
Acknowledgements
The authors thank Vanessa Pouthier, Harry Wels, and seven anonymous reviewers for feedback on various drafts of this paper.
Citation
Gidley, D. and Lubit, A.J. (2023), "The dual institutional work of Lyra's Walk: partisan violence and peace protest in Northern Ireland", Journal of Organizational Ethnography, Vol. 12 No. 2, pp. 141-161. https://doi.org/10.1108/JOE-01-2023-0003
Publisher
:Emerald Publishing Limited
Copyright © 2023, Emerald Publishing Limited